The FAA laws and regulations framework

The FAA laws and regulations framework

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is under the United States Department of Transportation. It is the principal regulator of aviation service providers in the country. These include air carriers, airlines, manufacturers, maintenance repair organizations, air taxi operators, corporate flight departments, and flight schools (Diederiks-Verschoor, & Butler, 2006). However, this list does not exhaust the reach of FAA mandate (Harris, 2011). In fact, some armatures also construct small crafts that take to the skies in the inventive spirit that is characteristic of the United States.

The government does not control the commercial aspect of airlines in the United States (Specialle, 2006). However, FAA regulates the industry to ensure safety for operators, passengers and the general public. This involves preventing exposure to unnecessary risk, and protecting national security of the country. It also provides systems which define the roles and relationships of individuals, businesses and government. The Federal Aviation Administration works under the Public Law 103-272, title 49 of the United States Code (Harris, 2011).

The FAA publishes and enforces the Federal Aviation Regulations which are under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulation. Given the existing challenges encountered by the aviation industry, these regulations ensure safe, secure, and efficient flights. The number of passenger using air transportation is increasing year by year (Harris, 2011). The size and complexity of airliners is also increasing posing new challenges in design, construction and operation.

The Commerce Clause of the constitution gives the Federal Government power to enact regulation on air navigation. Further, they should not contradict public law, and state and federal criminal law. In the United States, the federal government share power with the individual states which form the country. The complexity of the system arises because of differences among states. Usually, the FAA has adequate resources to implement its rigorous code (Milde, 2008).

Executive Orders affect the FAA laws and regulations. The organization has also to work with other federal and state departments including the treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, Justice Department, Interior department, and The Department of Homeland Security. The laws and regulations should be consistent with the Acts and laws under which the other federal departments operate (Ravich, 2012). It is noteworthy that some of these departments are sensitive and require exceptional regulations when dealing with them. A case in point is the Department of Defence.

In the aviation industry, the operators have to deal with many different regulators across different states and countries. The FAA standardizes its laws and regulations in line with International Civil Aviation Organization and IATA among other bodies. Furthermore, international operators coming into the US airspace must comply with the Federal Laws and regulations. The crafts covered range from light aircraft, balloons, and even rockets (Ravich, 2012).

From the aeronautical point of view, the laws and regulations should cover the design and construction of aircraft and parts. The prime manufacturers should be certified by FAA, and any foreign suppliers vetted to ensure that they meet safety and standards in the United States (Ravich, 2012). The steps in the design and production approval are essential. FAA specifies a rigorous approval procedure ensure the highest standards possible. The FAA regulations specify how to issue Type Certificates and expressly specify the privileges of the Type Certificate holders. All these are to ensure air worthiness of aircraft that is to operate in the US airspace (Ravich, 2012).

The Federal Aviation Regulations follow this framework. The regulations are in parts, dealing with a specific area of the aviation-related activity. Part 21 gives regulations for the production of parts (Harris, 2011). Parts 23, 25, 27, 29, and 33 give the standards of airworthiness of airplanes, rotorcraft, and aircraft engines. Only a small section of a given part will apply to a given project at a time. However, it has to be applied together with other parts of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

For an aircraft to function properly, the design requirements should be precise. Furthermore, the operation and maintenance requirements should be clearly outlined. The person to perform the maintenance, what it covers and “How To” instructions should be outlined. The quality standard should also be stated, who should approve return for service and how the records should be kept. Although a manager may have the powers to approve spending and issue orders, he or she must understand the FAA regulations in order to delegate effectively (Harris, 2011).

Aircraft safety has improved over the years given that the number of aircrafts taking to the skies has increased, but the number of fatalities has not increased. However, fatalities should be avoided at all costs. The laws and regulations specify the criteria in the event of an accident and how investigations should be conducted (Milde, 2008). The regulations also specify what happens in case of use of unapproved parts in an aircraft.

Aircraft avionics are vital to ensure safe and efficient operation of the aircraft. These include communication equipment, automatic flight equipment, and instrument system. The FAA provides standards for these systems and regulations on design, production, and maintenance are clear (Diederiks-Verschoor, & Butler, 2006). This makes it easy to engineer these systems and carry out certification. The manufacturers are making new systems, which require to be certified, because of advances in technology and software. This means that the framework must provide for these changes.

The prevention of human errors is through rigorous training and OHSA guidelines on work safety (Ravich, 2012). The FAA provides guidelines for the experience required to handle certain types of aircrafts, and procedures for landing and takeoff. The organization also provides licensing procedures for professionals including pilots, and engineers (Ravich, 2012). It is important to note that the FAA laws and regulations do not give the exact operating procedures, but only give general guidelines on licensing standards. In this, it licenses the pilot training schools.

The United States has a remarkably long history of aviation. The laws and regulations date back to Air Commerce Act of 1926 (Milde, 2008). The laws and regulations might become obsolete quickly if they are too specific. Therefore, they ought to provide room for the evolving nature of the industry. Therefore, legislation covers some issues while regulations cover others. It is much easier to change regulations than it is to change regulation (Ravich, 2012).

In conclusion, we see that the FAA laws and regulations have a long history. The Constitution of the United States, international Conventions and Standards, and state laws provide a framework within which the FAA comes up with regulations. They cover the development, production, operation, and maintenance of aircraft and facilities for the aircraft. The laws and regulation also cover safety issues relating to aircraft such as noise pollution, and tall structures that might hinder navigation (Ravich, 2012). FAA also provides a guideline for the certification of pilots, maintenance personnel, and training schools.

 

References

Specialle, R. (2006). Fundamentals of Aviation Law. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Diederiks-Verschoor, I. H. P., & Butler, M. A. (2006). An introduction to air law. Alphen aan       den Rijn: Kluwer law international.

Milde, M. (2008). Essential Air and Space Law and ICAO, Vol. 4, The Netherlands: Eleven          International Publishing.

Harris, D. (2011). Rule fragmentation in the airworthiness regulations: A human factors    perspective. Aviation Psychology And Applied Human Factors, 1(2), 75-86.          doi:10.1027/2192-0923/a000012

Ravich, T. M. (2012). Aviation Law. Florida Bar Journal, 86(6), 39-40.

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